Flying solo: Istanbul with Vogue

The single girl's guide to fabulous globe-trotting by Amrita Gandhi

I haven’t been to Istanbul as a single girl, but when there, I often wished that I were on my own — and with a generous shopping budget.

STAY: I love staying in Sultanahmet, the old part of town, simply because it is close to everything I want to visit. Cheap lodgings and great breakfasts are available at the boutique hotel Ibrahim Pasha. Ibrahimpasha.com

SEE: Don’t miss the lavish Topkapı Palace with its gold-plated insides, as well as the Ottoman Church and the Blue Mosque. Also close by is the Basilica Cistern, where the bases of two columns feature the head of Medusa, making you wonder what she’s doing in a plumbing tank.

SHOP: Drop in at the Four Seasons for the jewellery stores in their stunning souk-like lobby. They specialise in

rose-cut diamonds and old coin charms, many supplied from the nearby antique store Sofa. For singles with a single-minded desire to shop, the labyrinth that is Grand Bazaar has more carpet shops than varieties of Turkish delight. You can’t enter a store ‘just to look’—crafty Turkish carpet-sellers won’t let you leave without a purchase. Mine, a hand-knotted red silk kilim, is one of my favourite possessions. Fourseasons.com; Kashifsofa.com

DO: You’ll want to end with a trip to the hamaam. Choose one that’s women-only, even if it’s a ferry ride to nearby Bursa. They’ve all got marble fl oors, marble pools and finally a marble slab, on which you’ll be stripped down and scrubbed by a matter-of-fact masseuse.

VOGUE says: Check out the century old Cezayir restaurant, a magnet for Istanbul’s literati. It features a lounge, café, bar and garden. Cezayir-istanbul.com